This week’s suggested reading: John 14
This week’s question(s) to ponder: Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal any area of your life that’s marked with disobedience. Confess that sin to him (and possibly to a trusted friend for accountability). Ask him to forgive you and empower you to obey him in that area of your life. We all have blind spots. We all have sin we cling to. But God is good and kind. His commands are good and kind. And obedience to him truly brings life to us. (I’m preaching to myself.)
Jesus is the only way to the Father.
Years ago, after I completed my Masters in Divinity, I taught World Religions at a local community college. And one thing I realized in studying the religions of the world, Christianity has one distinct difference: a risen Savior.
Every religion has teachers. Every religion has instructions to followers. But no other religion on the planet has a risen Savior. No other religion on the planet has a Savior who came to Earth to die for the sins of man, and defeat death as Lord of all. Not one.
In John 14, Jesus explicitly says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the only way to the Father. Muhammad can’t get us to the Father. Siddhartha Gautama can’t get us to the Father. Confucius can’t get us to the Father. Laozi can’t get us to the Father. They all have some true teachings. There are some universal truths that God has revealed to mankind in “things that have been made.” (See Romans 1) But none of these religious founders can get you or me to the Creator God because they’re missing one key component: forgiveness of sins.
God teaches us from the very beginning that without the shedding of blood there cannot be forgiveness of sins. (See Leviticus 17 and Hebrews 9) That’s why he set up the animal sacrificial system in the Old Testament. This system foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice that would one day come from God Himself – the final sacrifice of the Son of God for the sins of man.
You and I can never do enough good things to reach the Father. We can’t say enough words, read enough texts, or perform enough good deeds. We’re incapable of personally bridging the chasm between us and our perfect, holy, creator God. We need a savior. We need a rescuer. And Jesus taught us that that’s exactly why he came.
Jesus came to save us from our inevitable condemnation. He came to be the perfect sacrifice for my sin and yours. He came to make us alive in him, instead of dead in our sins! And here’s what’s crazy. We don’t receive forgiveness by doing a bunch of external things. We receive forgiveness by simply believing in Jesus! (That’s the good news termed “the gospel.”) After we’ve put our faith in Jesus, he then empowers us by God’s Spirit to do the works of love he has created us to do.
Paul explains it clearly in his letter to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the Father. And this is the grace gift of God himself.
Obedience is evidence of our love for Jesus.
We receive forgiveness of our sins by faith in Jesus Christ. But our relationship with him doesn’t stop there. Love for Jesus and the gift of God’s grace propels us to reflect him in this dark world through obedience to his commands. In fact, obedience to his commands is directly linked to loving Jesus. You cannot separate the two.
Jesus says it twice in John 14.
- “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
- “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)
Our obedience doesn’t make us righteous. Faith in Jesus’ blood sacrifice for our sins makes us righteous before a holy God. But if we love Jesus, we will long to keep his commands. It’s what love does.
Though on a much smaller scale, as a child I wanted to obey my parents because I loved them. And when I disobeyed, I felt sorrow because of that love. My love for them created in me a desire to obey.
Any gospel teaching being preached that doesn’t include our obedience to God’s commands, isn’t the full gospel. Putting our faith in Jesus is more than insurance against going to hell. Putting our faith in Jesus is a heart posture, rooted in love and gratitude, that propels us to be light and love here on Earth…just as he commanded.
We’re all in process of working out our own salvation. We won’t be perfect, and God is tender to our human struggle. But it’s vital that we take the time to prayerfully ask God to reveal things in us things that steal the life Jesus died to give us. Because ultimately, his commands to us are good. They’re for our good, not for our harm. And obeying them truly is life for us.
The Spirit of God abides in those who believe in Jesus.
Mo blessing. Mo blessing. Mo blessing! Seriously. If forgiveness of sins and a forever relationship with Jesus isn’t enough, God also sends his Spirit to dwell WITHIN those who believe. That’s an unbelievable gift!
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17)
The Bible teaches that the Spirit of God himself comes to make his home within those who put their faith in Jesus. His Spirit seals us.* He guides us. He empowers us. He protects us. He ministers to us. He comforts us. He teaches us. (And sidenote, the Spirit of God is a “he” not an “it”.)
But just because we’re sealed with his Spirit, doesn’t mean we’re always filled. We as Jesus followers can grieve his Spirit within us. We can get so focused on this world – our pains, our wants, our plans, our pleasures – that we ignore his voice and follow after our selfish agenda. Paul discusses this in Ephesians 4:
“25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32)
The good news is, even if we’ve grieved him, by the absolute grace of God we can also “fan into flame” the Spirit of God within us. Paul uses this phrase in his letter to Timothy:
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
How do we fan him into flame? We spend time worshipping God, reading his Word, testifying of his goodness, confessing our sins, praying continually, and fellowshipping with other believers (just to name a few ways). And when we do, his fruit grows in our lives – the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. (See Galatians 5)
Jesus didn’t leave us orphans on earth to figure life out on our own. The Father comes to make his home in us once we’ve put our faith in Jesus Christ. And that’s a priceless gift.
*The word “seal” is a permanent marking. And as a sidenote, I’ve often joked that Jesus followers may glow or something in the spirit realm once we have this seal. I’m not so sure it’s a joke anymore. I’m thinking there may be some truth to that. But I guess we’ll find out one day.
Satan rules this world, but his time is limited.
In John 14:30-31, Jesus says, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.”
We live in a spiritual world. We’re taught throughout Scripture that there are spiritual beings – good and evil – all around us. And this John 14 text isn’t the only time we learn that Satan rules this world. 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes him as the god of this world, “4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Then in Ephesians 2 we read, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Satan currently rules this world. He is a deceiver, oppressor, liar, stealer, and hater. His influence upon the heart of man is pure evil. But his time is limited. Jesus will come again to judge. And Satan will be eternally damned. He knows his time is short. And he knows that Jesus wins.
